Friday, December 30, 2016

Shameful end of the year post

This is usually the post in which I copy and paste the list of what I read for the past year. This is going to be the first year I have not done that for awhile.

Let me explain with a picture.



I subscribe to the New Yorker. The magazine on top is the one I'm working on. The rest of the pile is unread and in chronological order. The date on that issue is January 11th......2016.

So I am about a year behind in that magazine, alone. And if I'm a year behind in one magazine, imagine how many books I've read.

It's embarrassing. I do not read, what I write suffers. This year, it really has. Sure I had a couple of poems published earlier in the year. After that, zip. A few deserved rejections and here we are.

What's keeping me from writing is often the objects that are right in front of me, or in my hand, or in my pocket.

I have to do better in 2017. Have to.

Did see plenty of movies in the last year. Averaged a bit more than one a week, which is acceptable to me. I did watch 100 movies a couple of years ago, just to see if I could, and I did. Know what? All I did was watch 100 movies in a year.

So here's that list.

Brooklyn
Sleeper
David Bowie: Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars
Autism In Love
The Little Fugitive
Galaxy Quest
Stagecoach
Design For Living
Peter Pan (1953)
Much Ado About Nothing (2003)
Room
The Wolfpack
A New Leaf
Cabaret
Hail Caesar!
Where to Invade Next
The Odd Couple
Dirigible
Sense and Sensibility (1995)
The Story of Temple Drake
Viva Las Vegas
Finding Vivian Maier
The Wrecking Crew
The Art of Love (1965)
Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
Captain America: Civil War
Sounder
Louis C.K. Live at the Beacon
Purple Rain
All the Light in the Sky
After the Thin Man
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Min and Bill
Simply Irresistible
Blazing Saddles
Lost in America
Ghostbusters (2016)
A Hard Days Night
Sharknado 4
Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me
Koch
A Fistful of Dollars
Ball of Fire
Golden Age of Comedy (1957)
Sons of the Desert
Under the Skin
Bananas
The Little Prince (2015)
Speedy (1928)
Rockabye (1932)
Blonde Crazy (1931)
Airplane!
Drunken Master 2
Moonlight
Where You’re Meant To Be
Meet Me in St. Louis
Shop Around the Corner (1940)
Rogue One
Krampus
After the Thin Man (yup, again)
Possession
Scrooge
The Omega Man
The World, the Flesh and the Devil

I do not go to the theater much these days. Most of what I watch is on Netflix or TCM. And I'm fine with that. So I will maintain my resolution to watch a movie a week, it's been doable. The reading though, oy.

Sunday, December 25, 2016

The year that keeps on taking

George Michael was an incredible talented musician. He became an artist after starting out as a boy duo with Andrew Ridgely with Wham!

This was my favorite song of his. Dead, and only a year older than me. And this year still has six days left.

Friday, December 23, 2016

A ride to enjoy

Today for the first time in franchise history, the Columbus Blue Jackets are in first place in the Metropolitan Division. They are also tied for the lead for most points in the league. The team has games in hand on their closest opponents. The team has also won eleven games in a row and are 10-0 in the month of December.

I cannot believe I just typed those words, but they are true. You can look it up.

The franchise has talent depth, strength at all positions and gain speed as the game goes on. They are vicious in the third period. Conditioning has paid off, greatly, this season. So much of this is from the mind of coach John Tortorella. He's turned this team, and its fanbase, into believers.

Sure, they're probably not going to continue this blistering pace all season. There will come a time when questions will be asked. The difference now is that those questions will be answered, and faults fixed, before the bricks tumble.

Wednesday, December 14, 2016

The Geezers are strong

2016 is going to be remembered more for what musicians died than what music was made. This is the music that helped me cope. There are some good songs on these records. The people that made them are passionate about what they do. As usual I have gaps, they have always have been there, and always will be. There are not many newer artists on this list, I know. I’m still looking, still trying to listen. Some days it’s easier to do than others.

Blood Orange - Freetown Sound
Cait Brennan - Debutante
Leonard Cohen - You Want it Darker
King Creosote - Astronaut Meets Appleman
Gaby Moreno - Ilusion
Van Morrison - Keep Me Singing
Emma Pollock - In Search of Harpersfield
Marta Ren & the Groovelets - Stop, Look, Listen
The Rolling Stones - Blue & Lonesome
Emile Sande - Long Live the Angels
Teenage Fanclub- Here
A Tribe Called Quest - We Got It From Here, Thank You for Your Service
KT Tunstall - KIN

Friday, December 9, 2016

Taking on the sunshine brigade.

Earlier a friend did a Facebook post inviting us to share unpopular Columbus opinions. It turned into a long thread. It seems that some feathers got ruffled as some of their sacred cows were grilled.

Anyway, to contrast.

Ten things I think are cool about Columbus:
1) The number of first run and art films available. Plus the wonderful CAPA Summer Movie Series.
2) You can find a good poetry reading just about any night.
3) My mortgage is about a third of what some people are paying in rent.
4) The Scioto Mile is an asset to downtown.
5) The Metroparks system is well taken care of, pretty safe, and a great way to connect with nature.
6) Our public library system is thriving where others are being cannibalized.
7) Four String Brewery's commitment to the west side. They make some good beer too.
8) The thrifting here is good. Plenty of places to shop.
9) Not one, not two, not three but four (Southern, Ohio, Palace, Lincoln) old theaters have been preserved and restored to their former glory. A lot of places can no longer claim one.
10) Our ice cream kicks ass.

Thursday, December 1, 2016

I speak good English

Fawlty Towers is my favorite television program. The acting, comedic timing and writing are perfection. Andrew Sachs, who played Manuel, died today, aged 86. This is one of the best scenes from the show.



Almost 40 years later, it still makes me laugh.